The present invention relates to garments and, more particularly, to garments assembled without sewing.
Garments have traditionally been produced by a cut-and-sew technique in which a plurality of separate fabric pieces are joined together, typically by sewing with thread, to form the finished garment. The drawbacks of this method of production are well known, and thus efforts have been made to devise alternative methods of production that can reduce or eliminate the amount of sewing required for assembling a garment. Major strides in this direction have been made, at least for certain types of garments, by applying circular knitting techniques to produce the main tubular body of the garment without seams. In general, however, it is still necessary to finish the garment by sewing, such as for applying decorative or elastic trim or banding around leg openings, neck openings, arm openings, waist openings, or the like, and for joining different portions of the garment that cannot be integrally knit together during the circular knitting process. For example, a so-called xe2x80x9cseamlessxe2x80x9d panty still requires at least one seam, typically located in a crotch region of the panty, for joining together a front panel and a back panel of the tubular fabric blank from which the panty is made.
The formation of such seams and the attachment of elements such as elastic are to this day still performed by sewing with thread in the commercial production of most garments. This generally requires the manufacturer to keep an extensive inventory of dye-to-match sewing thread so that the thread will be the same color as the fabric of the garment. It would be desirable to eliminate the requirement of sewing with thread to assemble and finish a garment.
The present invention enables many types of garments to be assembled and finished without sewing with thread. In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a trim is attached along an edge of a fabric body of a garment without sewing. The trim comprises a textile material containing fibers of thermoplastic material. The fabric edge to which the trim is attached can be any type of fabric, not necessarily containing any thermoplastic fibers. For example, the fabric can be all cotton or other natural fibers. The trim is attached by wrapping the trim around the fabric edge so that the edge is sandwiched between two opposing portions of the trim, and then localized regions of the trim are heated to cause the thermoplastic material in the trim to become plastic and flow together from the opposing portions, thus penetrating through the fabric edge. The thermoplastic material is then allowed to cool and solidify, thereby attaching the trim to the fabric edge. A preferred technique for locally heating the trim is to ultrasonically heat the trim with a sonic horn and anvil configured to contact the trim at the desired localized regions. The ultrasonically formed seams made in accordance with the present invention offer the potential for stronger seams than those made by conventional sewing in many cases, and the seams can be made faster than is typically the case with sewing. The seams also can be made soft and flexible so that they are as comfortable as or more comfortable than conventionally sewn seams.
The trim can be an elastic material. For instance, it is common to apply elastic banding around leg openings of garments such as briefs, panties, bodysuits, swimsuits, or the like, and elastic banding is also commonly attached about the waist of briefs and panties and along edges of brassieres and other types of garments. Such elastic banding often also serves a decorative function to provide a finished appearance along a fabric edge. Alternatively, the trim can be a decorative trim whose primary function is to provide a finished appearance along a fabric edge and to prevent raveling of the fabric, such as often applied around neck and/or arm openings of shirts and blouses. Such elastic and/or decorative trim can be attached without sewing in accordance with the present invention.
The localized regions at which the trim is heated and bonded can be intermittent and spaced along the length and/or along the width of the trim, or it can be a continuous line or lines extending along the trim. The localized regions can also form a decorative pattern. For example, the pattern of the localized regions can be designed to replicate the appearance of conventional stitching with thread, if desired.
Another aspect of the invention provides an alternative attachment of an elastic element along a fabric edge of a garment. In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, the fabric of the garment contains fibers of thermoplastic material, and the elastic element is laid on the fabric adjacent to the edge and the fabric is folded over the elastic element so that the elastic element is encased by the fabric and so that opposing portions of the fabric are in contact with each other. The opposing portions are then heated at localized regions thereof, such as by ultrasonic heating with a horn and anvil, to cause the thermoplastic material in the opposing portions to become plastic and flow together. The thermoplastic material is then allowed to cool and solidify, thereby bonding the fabric to itself and creating a tunneled elastic along the fabric edge. An advantage of this embodiment of the invention is that the elastic material need not be in a shape or comprise a material suitable for ultrasonic or other thermal bonding.
In yet another aspect of the invention, fabric portions of a garment can be joined together by ultrasonic bonding. In one embodiment, a panty comprises a fabric body having a front panel and a back panel. The fabric body contains fibers of thermoplastic material, and the front and back panels are ultrasonically bonded together in a crotch region of the panty. The panels can be joined with a lap joint, or they can be joined with a butt joint. An additional fabric panel can be provided in the crotch region for added material thickness, if desired. The additional fabric panel and the front and back panels can be joined together at a lap joint, which can be configured in various ways. Preferably, the front and back panels are ultrasonically bondable and the additional fabric panel is sandwiched at an end edge thereof between the front and back panels where they overlap each other. Side edges of the additional fabric panel can be sandwiched between the fabric of the panty and an ultrasonically bondable trim attached along the edge. Accordingly, the additional fabric panel need not, although it can, be ultrasonically bondable.